Google to host open source projects

[fingal]

More information here. A good idea?

[Cabhan]

My question: Why?

We already have Sourceforge, which EVERYONE knows about. We also have Freshmeat, and while I don't know if they host, they certainly have quite an index.

Now then, as I don't actually know what Google Code will involve, I can't say definitively, but it looks to me like a redundant waste of space.

[fingal]

On the face of it, this is Google's way of 'giving back' to the *nix community. After all Google runs on Linux. However, it could also be seen as a huge marketing tool riding on the back of the growing open source movement.

I don't know either way. I don't think there's anything wrong with marketing, but I'm not sure there's any harm in what they're doing.

[bigtomrodney]

I think maybe a huge sponsorship of Sourceforge may have been an option, but it may just have been cheaper for them to host. All the same, as long as everyone doesn't just start duplicating across the two it can only be a good thing.

[Giles]

My question: Why?

My question would be "Why not?". Surely choice is always a good thing, and is one of the best things about FOSS. Google's move only really does one thing: it gives software developers more choice in exactly how they want their project hosted. Although it may make life a little more confusing for those who're new to the whole thing*, the same could be said for having several distros, and diversity in that regard is undoubtedly a strength of linux. And I usually google when I want a program anyway, as I suspect many do - currently most of the results are hosted by SF, maybe in a few years there'll be a large chunk hosted by google, but that wont make life any harder for me.

Just my 2p, feel free to poke holes in my logic
Toodle-oo
Giles

*as they wont know where to go to find software

[Vergil83]

my biggest issue is currently it looks like crap IMHO. Take a look at some of the projects at http://code.google.com/hosting/ It doesn't look like it will be like sf where the have a website to do with what they want, it is just a brief description of the project with a link to the actual homepage (hosted on another site).

for example compare http://code.google.com/p/mp3splitter/ with http://mp3splitter.sourceforge.net/

[Cabhan]

No, no, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's anything inherently wrong with me. It just seems like a useless move.

We'll see where it goes. I just anticipate that nothing major will happen, Sourceforge will remain the king of hosting, and Google Code will (at best) simply become one more place where projects need to create a page linking to the Sourceforge page.

[cousinlucky]

Thank You Fingal for opening this thread!
Thank You also Cabhan for mentioning sourceforge and freshmeat.

As I am a true " linux nobody " I was not aware of these sites.
Is there a listing somewhere of other websites new Linux users should visit??

[devils casper]

Thank You Fingal for opening this thread!
Thank You also Cabhan for mentioning sourceforge and freshmeat.

As I am a true " linux nobody " I was not aware of these sites.
Is there a listing somewhere of other websites new Linux users should visit??

well !! do you people need any other explanation for Why Google doing this...??
newbies need Google.......
Google is best and easiest resource for newbies.......

<=== { casper } ===>

[fingal]

Thank You Fingal for opening this thread!

A real pleasure coz. I found out about this by accident. To explain: I spend a lot of time searching for information in my job, and I have to trawl through a lot of websites. From time to time I find articles about open source software. My first thought is then, 'Ah ha! A new thread.'

There's always a chance that I'll find something which is useful commercially, though to be honest this doesn't happen all that often.